We arrived home from a blissful winter break in Oz, not to a burgled house with goods strewn wilfully and cats afraid and cowed (like last year), but to two mewling, needy furballs and a house mercifully free of any drama. Two sour notes were apparent: one a perennial, the stultifying heat and humidity and the other, an unwelcome and inconvenient surprise: the computer had decided to retire its hardrive for the final time!
While the computer is away indefinitely in the tech shop for recovery, I have been unable to manipulate all the photos from the break to post here on the blog. I had a few on the camera, some of which I've posted up top. The phone shots are more extensive, so I'll post them when I get a chance in the coming weeks.
It would be easy to assume from the shots above, that the holiday was filled with the consumption of fine wine to the virtual exclusion of all other activities! The camera was called into duty just for set shots, so that's why there is a preponderance of said scenes: that's my excuse anyway! We did however consume multiple bottles of Moet, a Bollinger, a Mumm and even our closely cloistered and nurtured bottle of 1988 Grange (what a syrupy nectar that was....the ultimate bacchanalian reward!)
A snapshot of a typical day in the holidays went something like this. We'd rise a bit before 8, sometimes leaving for our walk before breakfast and sometimes after. We strode out on the Bather's Way, along the oceanfront all the way to King Edward Park then return. A solid 6 km each time. Every second day I'd complete my 160 pushups to maintain my regimen established back here. We breakfasted accompanied my our Krups machine coffees. On occasions, if conditions were right, I'd go for a surf then Cass and I would try to do a "job", perhaps, posting a letter, or buying some minor product for the house, or our year back in Taipei. We'd eat out or at home, glance at a little local TV, savour a glass of Hunter Valley red, read a book, have a chat.
We had a lot of opportunity to visit with Cassy's parents at Shoal Bay or they'd join us down in Newcastle and go out to dinner. We had lunches out with friends and family. We had evenings with same. We watched the Knights' valiant efforts, visited the art gallery or walked the invigorated, quirky mall. We visited my mum. We had catch ups with all the other members of both our families.
The Harley, a grand old dame of advancing years now, purred its way over and around the scenic rim in far northern NSW and catapulted us into south east Queensland for good measure. With no set itinerary except to enjoy the ride, we mapped out little trips on byroads and curvy mountain passes each day, bustling through tiny, rural hamlets and spectacular, geographic wonders. Some days we ended up right where we'd started!
Our wonderful Kiwi friends, Ross and Ains, offered to come and visit us this year and we were hoping against hope that we could offer them a little bit of that perfect Newcastle winter weather we're so used to. The first time they experienced Newcastle was during the week of the Pasha Bulker disaster! Luckily we had stellar weather and we surfed, ate, went for long walks (and runs for those two Energiser bunnies!) and spent hours chatting and drinking both fine NZ reds that they brought with them or some Hunter Shiraz. We cracked the Grange with them one evening to accompany our super BBQ! It was fantastic to see them and catch up and hear about all their adventures both completed (a massive kitchen reno amongst other things!) and upcoming, including trekking in Nepal. We miss them in Taipei...
I'm unpracticed, rusty and just a little frantic this week in my writing, as we gear up for the kids to descend upon us tomorrow morning. We've had three days of meetings in preparation including a marathon session this morning lasting nearly four hours! So, I'll move on from here and plan some lessons for tomorrow. More photos to come from the holiday in the ensuing weeks...
Oh, and apologies to the pencil-case of top-shelf writers out there: after luxuriating in the opening chapters of Tim Winton's Eyrie, everyone else can fight it out for second spot. Sublime etchings of a master craftsman! Cass is reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.
Guess what? We're going to Summer Sonic in Osaka, Japan this weekend. Straight from school to airport to hotel, quick sleep, then music festival frenzy: it's going to be a long, hot day and night of seething masses and a lineup of world famous groups. Check out the lineup here......Queen will rock us!!!
I'm unpracticed, rusty and just a little frantic this week in my writing, as we gear up for the kids to descend upon us tomorrow morning. We've had three days of meetings in preparation including a marathon session this morning lasting nearly four hours! So, I'll move on from here and plan some lessons for tomorrow. More photos to come from the holiday in the ensuing weeks...
Oh, and apologies to the pencil-case of top-shelf writers out there: after luxuriating in the opening chapters of Tim Winton's Eyrie, everyone else can fight it out for second spot. Sublime etchings of a master craftsman! Cass is reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.
Guess what? We're going to Summer Sonic in Osaka, Japan this weekend. Straight from school to airport to hotel, quick sleep, then music festival frenzy: it's going to be a long, hot day and night of seething masses and a lineup of world famous groups. Check out the lineup here......Queen will rock us!!!